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Design Process: Crown of Leaves

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Published on Friday, 20 August 2010 00:07

Cross posted from her own blog, Faina Goberstein talks about the inspiration for her beautiful hat, Crown of Leaves. This is Faina's first pattern for Twist Collective and also the topic of this season's Swatch It with Clara Parkes

Image copyright Caro Benna Sheridan

This hat is my first design in Twist Collective. I can't tell you how proud I am to be on the list of designers who contribute to this online magazine. Fall 2010 issue is full of beautifully crafted garments and accessories along with interesting articles.

It is very intriguing for me to watch the beginning of any design. Each pattern is different. You never know what will give you an idea.

This particular hat's idea was triggered by a beautiful horizontal cable that reminded me of crowns, which my friends and I made out of maple leaves when we were children. Unfortunately, I do not have a quality photo of such a crown, but in this photograph taken in Russia you see the girl on the left wearing one.

Here is another crown made by Larisa Vilensky for this post. Thank you, Larisa.

If you are interested, here is the website showing how to make it. Although it is a Russian website, you do not need to know the language since the step-by-step explanations are in pictures and are very clear. I am sure that many such crowns are made by kids and adults outside of Russia as well.

I love hats and even though I do not need to wear them now as often as at the time when I lived in Russia, my memory of windy and cold days suggests to me that a hat needs to be functional and beautiful. Functional, because it has to stay on your head in the wind, and beautiful, because when you are bundled up, this is probably the most important of three small articles in your wardrobe (the other two are gloves and a scarf). So, when I planned the design of this hat, I kept those thoughts in mind. As you see on the original swatch, I began with the decorative cast-on that I love for the look. The problem with this cast-on is that it is loose. That's why I followed it with a rib for elasticity and for keeping it firm on a head. The rest of the hat was hinted by the cable stitch pattern. The crown part naturally flowed from the main pattern and decreases were done to taper the hat at the top.

This shot is showing the cast-on, the rib, and the cable part.

When the Fall 2010 issue was live and I saw the photos, my thought was: "I hope people like this hat as much as I do."

I think what makes this magazine special is the combination of exclusive designs, gorgeous photography, and great articles. You can be sure that there are hard-working and talented people behind the scenes who make it all happen.

You can read a very nice article by Clara Parkes in Twist Collective about swatching using my hat's cable pattern. I was very pleased and honored that Clara liked my hat.

Remember that there are many more beautiful designs in this issue of Twist Collective. Go and check it out.